Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico has raised a $30 million since April, more than tripling the amount collected by Republican rival Ken Paxton, and enough to spread the wealth among his party’s candidates in down-ballot races.
Both Senate candidates announced their fundraising totals Wednesday for the second quarter of 2026. Talarico’s haul builds on the $27 million he collected during the first three months of the year, much of it while he was in the midst of a pitched battle for the Democratic nomination against U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas.
Paxton’s camp said its $9 million for the quarter shows that the three-term Texas attorney general is uniting Republicans after the costly runoff campaign against four-term incumbent John Cornyn, the favorite among the Senate’s GOP leaders.
Talarico’s camp, which has been a fundraising powerhouse since launching his campaign in September, said it recently donated $100,000 to Democratic gubernatorial nominee Gina Hinojosa and $10,000 each to the other down-ballot Democrats running statewide. An additional $250,000 was sent by Talarico to bolster the campaigns of Democratic candidates for the Texas House. A full breakdown of Talarico’s donations won’t be available until next week’s filing deadline for federal candidates.
“From the beginning it’s been clear that the top of this ticket has been more united than any Democratic ticket in recent memory,” said Hinojosa spokesman Tommy Kubitsckek, noting that both candidates represent parts of Austin in the Texas House. It shows this is a different type of year, and we’re actually running to win.”
Hinojosa is trying to unseat three-term Gov. Greg Abbott, and as a candidate running for state office, reports her campaign fundraising numbers on a different timetable that those competing in federal elections.
Polls show Talarico and Paxton running neck-and-neck in a state that hasn’t elected a Democrat to statewide office since 1994. The governor’s race, although within single digits in many polls, is not as close. So far, Abbott has proven to be the more prodigious fundraiser with more than $100 million in his campaign account. Hinojosa, meanwhile, has so far raised $2.4 million, according to the watchdog organization, Transparency USA.